Afghanistan: Human Rights

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 May 2009,  Official Report, column 1496W, on Afghanistan: females, what reports he has received on the  (a) composition,  (b) mandate and  (c) method of operation of the drafting committee established by the Afghan Ministry of Justice to re-examine certain provisions of the Shi'a Family Law; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on progress in the review of Shi'a Family Law in Afghanistan ordered by President Karzai; what discussions he has had with the government of Afghanistan on that matter; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We, along with other international partners, made our concerns about the Shia Personal Status Law clear to the Afghan Government at a senior level. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister raised the issue with President Karzai. We welcomed President Karzai's announcement on 27 April 2009 that the law would be changed to bring it in line with the Afghan Constitution, which guarantees equal rights for women, and the international treaties to which Afghanistan is a party.
	On 20 June 2009, the Minister of Justice met with female representatives of the Afghan Parliament and civil society and told them that his Ministry has now amended the Law. The amendments were made following written recommendations by Afghan civil society (the Afghan Women's Network), Katib university and moderate Ulema (religious scholars).
	We understand the amendments made by the Afghan Ministry of Justice have added around 60 articles and removed around 10 from the Law. Language was also added to clarify the meaning of certain articles. The amended draft was viewed by the above female representatives as broadly 'pro women', and contentious articles, including the provision appearing to legalise rape, had been removed. The Law is also being reviewed by the Supreme Court.
	President Karzai has indicated that the Law will next be sent back to the Afghan Parliament for approval (in time for the new session of Parliament, beginning 20 July 2009).
	The Law continues to cause controversy on both sides—some religiously conservative Ulema are still lobbying the President to pass the original draft, parts of which the international community and many Afghans deemed unacceptable. The outcome is still uncertain, therefore we, along with our international partners and Afghan civil society, will continue to follow the passage of the Law closely. We will lobby the Afghan Government whenever appropriate, to help ensure the final Law respects women's rights and does not undo progress made since 2001.

Africa: Piracy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on piracy in the waters around the Horn of Africa.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary attended the meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Councils in Brussels on 15 June 2009 where he and his EU counterparts discussed Operation Atalanta and piracy off the coast of Somalia as part of the agenda.
	The Foreign Secretary also attended a meeting of the G8 Foreign Ministers in Trieste on 26 June 2009. They discussed piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the eastern coast of Somalia along with other pressing issues.
	The UK continues to take a leading role in activities to counter piracy. As part of the international contact group on piracy off the coast of Somalia we chair a working group on regional capability and international coordination. This will next meet in London at the International Maritime Organisation Headquarters on 10 July 2009.

Burma: Ethnic Groups

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations his Department has made to the Thai government on the repatriation of Karen civilians to Burma; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Our ambassador in Bangkok most recently raised the issue of refugees on the Thailand-Burma border with the Permanent Secretary of Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 1 July 2009. Our embassy staff have also been in contact with the Thai Ministry of the Interior, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working on the border, about the welfare and living conditions of those recently arrived from eastern Burma, and the humanitarian assistance they are receiving. This assistance, provided by the Royal Thai Government, UNHCR and NGOs, includes food, plastic sheeting for shelter, blankets, bed-nets and medical care.

Colombia: Foreign Relations

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 June 2009,  Official Report, column 70W, on Colombia: foreign relations, if he will have discussions with his Colombian counterpart on bilateral relations and broader global issues.

Chris Bryant: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no such meetings scheduled. However, as stated in the previous answer referred to, our ambassador in Bogota maintains regular contact with senior Colombian Government officials, including the Foreign Minister, to discuss bilateral relations and broader global issues.

Colombia: Foreign Relations

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 June 2009,  Official Report, column 70W, on Colombia: foreign relations, whether the British Ambassador in Bogota has met senior Colombian government officials to discuss the matter of political prisoners being held in Colombia; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: As stated in the previous answer referred to, our ambassador in Bogota maintains regular contact with senior Colombian Government officials, including the Foreign Minister, to discuss bilateral relations and broader global issues. In such meetings, the ambassador regularly raises human rights issues, most recently with the Vice President on 5 July 2009, where he discussed, among other issues, allegations that judicial proceedings are used against individuals for political purposes.

East Timor: Politics and Government

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to assist restorative justice and truth and reconciliation initiatives in East Timor; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Since 1999, we have actively supported the development of East Timor and played a part in ensuring that appropriate assistance was provided by the UN. The UN Mission in East Timor continues to provide peacekeeping support and capacity building to the East Timorese Government and Administration. The UK helps to fund this through our assessed contributions to the UN, and we will continue to offer strong support for multilateral efforts in East Timor. Additionally, the EU is assisting East Timor in promoting its justice sector and reinforcing the rule of law. The UK contributes both technical and financial assistance to the EU programmes in East Timor, currently worth around 18 million euros.
	We believe it is for the governments of Indonesia and East Timor to consider how best to deal with their past history, reflecting the concerns of their citizens. We have raised the Commission for Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) and the Commission on Truth and Friendship (CTF) with East Timor and expressed the UK's view that it was important for the East Timorese parliament to debate the reports of the CTF and the CAVR as part of the process of establishing accountability. We hope that the adoption of the CTF report by President Yudhoyono of Indonesia and President Ramos Horta of East Timor will be a step forward in cementing the relationship between the two governments and enabling them to move forward in peaceful co-operation.

India: Ethnic Groups

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Indian government on the rights and interests of the Dongria Kondh tribe of Orissa; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We have not discussed the rights and interests of the Dongria Kondh tribe with the Indian Government. We have discussed the general rights and entitlements of tribal groups with Government of Orissa officials, under the Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihoods Programme funded by the Department for International Development.

Kenya: Politics and Government

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to support the Kenyan government's political reform programme; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The UK has provided support to the Kenyan Government's political reform programme through its contribution to the Annan process and the National Accord. We have provided 1.4 million (200,000 in 2007-08 and 1.2 million in 2008-09). Additional support has been provided to civil society organisations to assist communities to reconcile and engage in the peace process. In the past two financial years, civil society support amounted to 1.2 million.
	All support has jointly been managed by the Department for International Development (DfID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, through the Africa Conflict Prevention Programme (ACPP).
	We continue to urge Kenya's leaders to work together to ensure that the key reforms needed in Kenya are made. We will continue to offer our full support to Kofi Annan and his leadership role in the reform process.

Palestinians

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on demolitions of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The demolition of houses in East Jerusalem is, with very few exceptions, illegal under international law. It also threatens the viability of a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement in the Middle East.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made the UK's concerns about the demolition of Palestinian buildings in East Jerusalem during his statement to the UN Security Council on 11 May 2009 and it was also raised during the EU Foreign Ministers' meeting on 15 June 2009.
	The Foreign Secretary also continues to call on Israel to freeze settlement construction, including in East Jerusalem. We will continue to raise these issues as a high priority with Israel both privately and publicly; the Foreign Secretary last did so in his conversation with the Israeli Foreign Minister on 1 July 2009.

Palestinians: Borders

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the number of tunnels between Egypt and Gaza; what steps he is taking to assist the government of Egypt to prevent the flow of weapons through the Rafah border crossing into Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: With the number of tunnels discovered changing on a regular basis we are unable to provide a definitive figure.
	The UK continues to work closely with the EU, US and regional partners to establish how best our expertise can be used to help to prevent the flow of weapons into Gaza, including through tunnels. We have attended meetings in Copenhagen and Ottawa and hosted one in London.

Palestinians: Health Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the establishment of clinics by the government of Israel at the Erez crossing on the Gaza border; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We are aware of the Erez clinic which opened on 18 January 2009 and closed on 28 January 2009. We understand that it treated five Palestinians injured in the conflict.

Palestinians: Health Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of the alleged refusal of Hamas to allow Palestinian citizens in Gaza from using clinics set up by Israel; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We have not received any such report.

Palestinians: Health Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the number of Gaza residents who have entered Israel for medical and humanitarian reasons via the Erez crossing; what recent discussions he has had with the government of Israel on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We have not received reports on the number of people entering Israel for medical and humanitarian reasons via the Erez crossing. However, Israel needs to reduce restrictions on the movement of people in and out of Gaza.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary expressed his concerns regarding the restrictions at the Gaza crossings to the Israeli Foreign Minister on 1 July 2009. He pressed Israel to allow in humanitarian aid, reconstruction materials, and trade goods, as well as the legitimate flow of people.

Trident

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his Department's evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee's inquiry into Global Security: Non-Proliferation, HC 222, Ev 118, what assessment he has made of the merits of suspending the Trident replacement programme in the context of negotiations to reduce warhead numbers; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister stated on 17 March 2009, as soon as it becomes useful for our nuclear arsenal to be included in broader multilateral negotiations, Britain stands ready to participate and to act. A decision now not to renew our Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear (SSBN) submarine fleet would pre-empt any such negotiation, by committing a future government to unilateral disarmament at the end of the current fleet's lifespan, regardless of the strategic circumstances at that time.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure the accuracy of mapping of land for the purposes of 2010 single farm payments.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is in the process of updating land information used to support the single payment scheme (SPS) and other direct support schemes. A programme of work is underway to deliver a more effective and up-to-date geographic information system, as required under EU Regulation.
	The programme of work includes a mapping update project which will gain agreement from farmers to updated maps of their land parcels and ensure the mapping information held by RPA to support the SPS and direct support schemes reflects the most up to date actual land and features on the ground. For the first time permanent features ineligible for support under the SPS are included. There are more than 2 million land parcels in England.
	Completion of the work this year will enable the updated maps to be used for next year. The programme will also provide the potential for future new services, such as the ability to view maps on line.

Animals: Quarantine

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many animals of each species were kept in quarantine facilities operated by his Department in 2008.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following species arrived in the UK in 2008 and went into quarantine. This does not include animals which entered into quarantine at the end of 2007 and were released in 2008.
	
		
			  Species  Number in quarantine 
			 Armadillos 2 
			 Baboons 2 
			 Bats 12 
			 Beavers 38 
			 Binturongs 1 
			 Cats 1,169 
			 Cheetahs 14 
			 Chinchillas 2 
			 Dogs 2,110 
			 Foxes 4 
			 Ferrets 2 
			 Fossas 2 
			 Fruit bats 10 
			 Guinea pigs 5 
			 Lemurs 4 
			 Leopards 5 
			 Lions 3 
			 Lynx's 1 
			 Mice 6 
			 Ocelots 1 
			 Otters 4 
			 Primates 2,209 
			 Pumas 4 
			 Rabbits 16 
			 Red pandas 1 
			 Sea lions 3 
			 Tenrecs 15 
			 Tigers 5 
			 Wallaby's 2 
			 Weasels 8 
			 Wolves 1 
			 Total 5,661 
			  Note: The figures in the table are taken from Animal Health's bespoke quarantine system.

A1

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the merits of introducing  (a) separated junctions at Sandy, Beeston and Biggleswade and  (b) new bypasses for Sandy and Biggleswade on the A1 between the Black Cat roundabout and the A1(M) at Radwell north of Baldock.

Chris Mole: The A1 trunk road through Bedfordshire is identified as a road of regional importance. As such the priority to be given for separated junctions at Sandy, Beeston and Biggleswade and new bypasses for Sandy and Biggleswade is initially for the East of England to consider.
	In March 2009 the region submitted advice to Government on public spending priorities for transport, housing and regeneration, economic development and skills as part of the refresh of the Regional Funding Advice (known as RFA2). This includes transport priorities in the region through to 2018-19. The Government expect to respond to the region's advice later this year. However, the region did not include these junctions and bypasses in their submitted priorities.

Aviation

Lembit �pik: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the merits of retaining policy-making in respect of non-commercial flight crew licensing in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport consulted on the proposal to extend The European Aviation Safety Agency's remit to air operations and flight crew licensing, including for non-commercial aviation, in 2006.
	The subsequent EC Regulation 216/2008, which came into effect in April 2008, established Community competence for policy-making with regards to flight crew licences. However, in common with all EU member states, the UK has retained competence for policy-making with respect to licences for pilots of aircraft not covered by Regulation 216/2008. These are known as Annex 2 aircraft and include: microlights, ex-military aircraft and home-built aircraft.

Cycling: Finance

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much funding his Department has allocated to encourage bicycle usage in  (a) Cambridgeshire,  (b) Peterborough,  (c) Huntingdonshire and  (d) the East of England in each of the last five years.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Transport has awarded cycle training grants as set out in table 1 to the following local authorities in the East of England since we first started awarding grants for National Standard Cycle Training, promoted as Bikeability training in 2006-07. Table 2 provides details of grants made direct to School Sports Partnerships in the East of England.
	The Department has made 4 million available to the School Sports Partnerships in 2009-10 in addition to the 5.4 million awarded to over 90 local authorities. School Sports Partnerships will not bid for grant until later in the year but we expect to meet all claims for cycle training grant in full in 2009-10.
	
		
			  Table 1: Local authority 
			  Grant () 
			  East of England  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Bedfordshire County Council  6,720.00 32,000.00  
			 Bedford Borough Council28,000.00 
			 Central Bedford Borough Council35,240.00 
			 Cambridge22,480.00 
			 Colchester27,360.00 
			 Essex County Council   10,000.00 26,000.00 
			 Hertfordshire County Council 28,000.00 59,500.00 65,000.00 70,000.00 
			 Leighton Linslade63,000.00 
			 Luton Borough Council 6,400.00 1,200.00 10,000.00 20,000.00 
			 Southend on Sea Council   20,160.00 31,104.00 
			 Suffolk County Council12,000.00 
			 Thurrock Council   24,000.00 32,000.00 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: School Sports Partnerships 
			  Grant () 
			  East of England  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Colne (Essex) 8,000.00  12,800.00 
			 Bury St. Edmunds (Suffolk)  9,600.00  
			 Sudbury (Suffolk)  4,000.00 4,000.00 
			 Biddenham (Bedford)  12,000.00  
			 Sharnbrook Upper (Bedford)  12,080.00  
			 Redbourne (Bedford)   40,000.00 
			 Castlepoint and Rochford (Essex)   3,000.00 
			 Davenant (Essex)   25,000.00 
			 Chelmsford (Essex)   25,000.00 
			 Thurstable (Essex)   36,000.00 
			 North Norfolk (Norfolk)   13,800.00 
			 Cliff Park (Norfolk)   24,000.00 
		
	
	In addition, Cambridge was included in the new Cycling Cities and Towns programme by Cycling England and was awarded 500,000 in 2008-09. Three other towns in the Eastern region also received funding last year from this programme: Colchester 400,000, Leighton-Linslade 567,138 and Southend-on-Sea 399,760.

Departmental Marketing

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Cheadle of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 399W, on railways: marketing, for what reason his Department has incurred no advertising expenditure, other than for statutory advertising, since the amalgamation into his Department of the Strategic Rail Authority; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport uses a wide range of media and events to inform the public about rail policies and programmes. Advertising travel by rail is a matter for the rail industry, which spends substantial sums on advertising.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport which Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) offices, excluding DVLA Swansea, are owned by the Crown.

Paul Clark: All of the 38 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA) local offices outside Swansea are occupied on a leasehold arrangement. While 27 are held under a commercial lease with private landlords, 11 are held with other Government Departments where the ownership of the premises is unknown by DVLA.

Driving: Working Hours

Alistair Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2009,  Official Report, column 290W, on driving: working hours, which categories of privately-owned horsebox are exempt from EU regulations on drivers' hours; and whether drivers of horseboxes are considered commercial or non-commercial drivers.

Paul Clark: Privately owned horseboxes are exempt from the directly applicable EU drivers' hours rules if they do not exceed 7.5 tonnes and are being used for the non-commercial carriage of goods.
	Generally speaking, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) would normally consider that a vehicle not exceeding 7.5 tonnes is being used on a non-commercial basis where it is clear that the carriage of goods (in this case horses) is not with a view to making a profit. But ultimately, of course, it remains for the Courts to interpret the law.

Parking: Fines

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the level of use of Automated number plate recognition systems in the levying of parking fines; and what guidance his Department has issued on the proportionate use of traffic-based surveillance cameras.

Sadiq Khan: Camera equipment used by traffic authorities for civil parking enforcement has to be certified by the Secretary of State for Transport. The Department for Transport (DFT) is aware of one authority whose certified system uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to assist the visual identification of vehicles when the evidence is reviewed. Any system that relied solely on ANPR evidence would not comply with the certification criteria.
	Guidance for traffic authorities in England on the use of camera technology for civil parking enforcement is set out on pages 55 to 58 of DFT's Operational Guidance to Local Authorities on Parking Policy and Enforcement, issued in March 2008.

Building Britain's Future

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which of the bills referred to in Annex A of the Building Britain's Future document  (a) will include Framework Powers for Welsh Assembly Government Ministers and  (b) will not include Wales in their territorial extent.

Peter Hain: The policy content of Bills referred to in the Draft Legislative Programme, are in the process of being developed. Discussions will continue between Ministers and officials, including the Welsh Assembly Government.
	We will consider requests made by the Welsh Assembly Government for the need for framework powers which must be within scope of the proposed Bill.

Departmental Databases

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information databases his Department  (a) maintain and  (b) uses which do not contain personal information.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office maintains its own databases to support the administration of correspondence, and of parliamentary questions. These do not contain personal data.
	My Department also makes use of two database systems provided and maintained by the Ministry of Justice. One is a document storage system, which contains some personal data and this complies with Government rules on the storage of personal information. The other is a financial system to support our payments, financial management and accounting.

Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Leader of the House what discussions she has had with Ministerial colleagues on the schedule for the establishment of a Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy; and if she will make a statement.

Barbara Keeley: Having consulted on this matter, the Government intend to bring forward proposals for the establishment of a committee soon. We intend that the committee should have time to consider the 2009 update to the National Security Strategy and to make recommendations for subsequent updates.

Regional Select Committees

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Leader of the House with reference to paragraph 20, Chapter 1, of Building Britain's Future, Cm 7654, what proposals she has for building upon the accountability of the system of regional government to regional select committees in the House.

Barbara Keeley: Regional select committees began work in March and April this year. Three of the eight committees are conducting inquiries that focus primarily on the work of regional development agencies; the others are conducting wider-ranging inquiries into the economic conditions in the region, which will touch on the work of regional development agencies.
	The Government will continue to observe developments in the regional select committees as their inquiries progress.

Public Libraries

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects to make a final ruling in the Wirral Library Review; when he plans to publish the new National Strategy for Libraries; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: The Secretary of State expects to announce his decision on the library service provided by Wirral metropolitan borough council as soon as possible after he has considered the conclusions of the Independent Inquiry. This is expected to report in the summer.
	In respect of the Library Service Modernisation Review, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 June 2009,  Official Report, column 510W.

Tourism: Transport

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make it his policy to produce with the Secretary of State for Transport a draft strategy to develop transport networks in order to encourage growth in the tourism industry.

Barbara Follett: We currently have no plans to produce such a strategy, but my Department is already working with the Department for Transport on a number of tourism transport issues. For example, Ministers colleagues from the Department for Transport are members of the recently established Cross-Government Ministerial Group on Tourism, which was set up to promote and support the industry in Westminster and Whitehall.
	In addition, our recently published sustainable tourism framework takes account of the Department for Transport's Delivering a Sustainable Transport System which sets out the Government's aim of building up a transport system which supports quality of life and a healthy natural environment. This is one of the Department for Transport's five strategic goals and is underpinned by a number of challenges which will be used to inform future transport spending priorities and could be used by transport planners for transport schemes that would support tourism.

UK School Games: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much each funding stream contributed to the UK School Games in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2008; and how much each stream is contributing to the 2009 UK School Games.

Gerry Sutcliffe: A breakdown of the funding streams from the Exchequer, the National Lottery, private sponsorship and the host city for the UK School Games between 2006 and 2009 is displayed as follows:
	 2006 (2.036 million)
	Exchequer0
	Lottery1.484,000 (Millennium Commission)
	Private sector343,000
	Host city209,000
	 2007 (2.89 million)
	Exchequer0
	Lottery2.3 million (BIG Lottery)
	Private sector540,000
	Host city50,000
	 2008 (3.260 million)
	Exchequer2.7 million
	Lottery0
	Private sector160,000
	Host city400,000
	 2009 (3.4 million estimated)
	Exchequer2.7 million
	Lottery0
	Private sector200,000 (estimated)
	Host city500,000

UK School Games: Finance

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2009,  Official Report, column 615W, on the UK School Games: finance, how much funding the UK School Games received from  (a) the Exchequer,  (b) the National Lottery,  (c) private sponsorship and  (d) the host city money between 2006 and 2009; and how much funding from each source he expects to be provided in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 3 July 2009
	A breakdown of funding from the Exchequer, the National Lottery, private sponsorship and the host city for the UK School Games between 2006 and 2009 is displayed in the following list:
	 2006 (2.036 million)
	Exchequer0
	Lottery1,484,000 (Millennium Commission)
	Private sector343,000
	Host city209,000
	 2007 (2.89 million)
	Exchequer0
	Lottery2.3 million (BIG Lottery)
	Private sector540,000
	Host city50,000
	 2008 (3.260 million)
	Exchequer2.7 million
	Lottery0
	Private sector160,000
	Host city400,000
	 2009 (3.4 million estimated)
	Exchequer2.7 million
	Lottery0
	Private sector200,000 (estimated)
	Host city500,000
	The exact nature of distribution of funding for the games in 2010 and 2011 is currently under discussion.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces deployed in each region of Afghanistan  (a) have been trained in each year since 2001 and  (b) are being trained in each local Afghan language.

Bill Rammell: Records for Farsi are available from 2001. Very little training in Pashto and Dari was conducted before 2005. This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Farsi and Dari are very similar languages and many personnel trained in Farsi have also received some training in Dari.
	The following tables provide the available figures for each of the three relevant languages.
	
		
			  Pashto 
			   SLP1  SLP2  SLP3  SLP4  Total 
			 2009 18 2 2 0 22 
			 2008 11 33 18 2 64 
			 2007 65 34 6 0 105 
			 2006 30 17 1 0 48 
			 2005 7 0 0 0 7 
			 Total 131 86 27 2 246 
		
	
	
		
			  Dari 
			   SLP1  SLP2  SLP3  SLP4  Total 
			 2009 8 4 0 0 12 
			 2008 6 2 1 0 9 
			 2007 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2006 6 6 0 0 12 
			 2005 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 20 12 1 0 33 
		
	
	
		
			  Farsi 
			   SLP1  SLP2  SLP3  SLP4  Total 
			 2009 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2008 5 15 3 1 24 
			 2007 18 20 7 1 46 
			 2006 3 19 12 3 37 
			 2005 1 8 1 2 12 
			 2004 0 1 4 3 8 
			 2003 0 2 2 3 7 
			 2002 0 0 2 2 4 
			 2001 0 1 0 2 3 
			 Total 27 66 31 17 141 
		
	
	The figures in the table do not include figures for the Special Forces and do not include personnel who have left the services since their language training and whose details are no longer available. The figures for 2009 are to date and do not include expected outputs for the remainder of the year.
	Entries are made against the year when qualifications were achieved. SLP levels can be defined as follows: SLP1Survival, SLP2Functional, SLP3Professional and SLP4Expert. Qualifications in speaking and listening skills have been used to determine the SLP level against which personnel are listed.
	The figures for Pashtu do not include personnel who received SLP1 level training but were not examined, or did not pass the exam, at this level. It is estimated that up to 200 personnel fall into this category.
	In addition to this, all military personnel deploying to Afghanistan receive a little training from native speakers in very basic phrases, words and responses, and are issued with an aide-mmoire. Approximately 14,000 personnel have received this very basic training in the last year.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to his speech given at Wilton Park on 15 January 2009, NATO at 60: towards a new strategic concept, how many additional helicopters have been delivered to forces in Afghanistan as a result of the UK-French Helicopter Fund established in the March 2008 Franco-British Summit Communiqu.

Bob Ainsworth: A number of nations have benefited from the UK-FR helicopter initiative to make their helicopters more deployable. The first three helicopters will deploy to Afghanistan as a direct result of the initiative from December this year. We expect a further five to deploy in 2010 and up to three more by end 2011. Additional contributions to the fund would further increase these numbers.

Elizabeth Cross

William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 1 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 18-21WS, on armed forces recognition, for what reason a distinction is drawn between retrospective recognition for the families of those who served and died in  (a) Palestine since 27 September 1945 and otherwise since 1 January 1948 and  (b) the Second World War.

Kevan Jones: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission attributed deaths up to 1 January 1948 to world war two service and recorded them on their Rolls of Honour and Memorials. The only exception to this is deaths in Palestine from 27 September 1945 to 30 June 1948, which will also be eligible for the Elizabeth Cross and Memorial Scroll. This is consistent with the dates used for recognition on the Armed Forces Memorial, although the criteria for inclusion on that memorial are different.

Gurkhas: Pensions

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will assess the merits of increasing the future pension for Gurkhas who served prior to 1997 to a level equivalent to that of British Army soldiers with the same service with effect from 1 April 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: It has been the policy of successive governments not to implement changes to pensions and similar benefits retrospectively. This policy has been applied across the public sector in the United Kingdom, not just to Gurkha veterans. To do so now would not only be counter to this policy but would also lead to potential claims from other groups in public sector schemes.
	The Gurkha pension scheme pays pensions earlier than the armed forces pension scheme. This is because Gurkhas are unlikely to work again in Nepal unlike their British counterparts, in the UK. For example, a Gurkha Rifleman or Corporal with 15 years service (approximately 85 per cent. of those receiving GPS payments) can claim an immediate pension (from age 33) whereas equivalent service under the AFPS would not attract pension payments until age 60. Like any pension scheme, the earlier the benefits are paid the lower the annual payment.
	It has been estimated that the cost of increasing the annual pension payments for Gurkhas who served prior to 1 July 1997 to the amount received by their UK equivalents would be 1.5 billion over 20 years.

Radioactive Waste: Waste Management

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 12 May 2009,  Official Report, column 753W, on radioactive waste: waste management, which of the recommendations of the report have been implemented; and what the outstanding issues are which he expects to be addressed by the end of September 2009.

Quentin Davies: Of the 27 recommendations in the report, 23 have been implemented. It is anticipated that, of the four remaining recommendations, two covering design drawings and maintenance of underground pipe work will be completed by the end of September 2009.
	It has been decided that the final two recommendations, which cover the requirement for safety justification and for new equipment, can best be addressed as part of a future options study to determine Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde's long-term plans for radioactive waste management arrangements. This is due to report in the first quarter of 2010.
	In the meantime, all radioactive waste handling is carried out in accordance with procedures that have been agreed with the appropriate regulatory bodies, including the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Territorial Army

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the location is of each Territorial Army centre in the United Kingdom;
	(2)  what the  (a) establishment figure,  (b) current manning figure and  (c) location is of each unit of company equivalent level or higher of the Territorial Army in the United Kingdom.

Bill Rammell: There are more than 2,600 sites accommodating the reserve forces and Cadets, ranging from Cadet huts to training areas. The Territorial Army (TA) shares many of these sites with other reserve force and Cadet units, and some TA units are based at regular Army sites. Following the recommendations of the Strategic Review of Reserves to improve the Volunteer Estate, we are currently capturing detailed information about reserve force locations. Once this information is available, I will place a copy in the Library of the House.
	A copy of TA sub-unit establishment liability figures will also be placed in the Library of the House.
	As at 1 April 2009, total manning for the TA was 35,350. Manning information is held in the Joint Personnel Administration system but not in the format requested. This information could be provided only in the requested format at disproportionate cost.

Appeals: Disability Living Allowance

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of appeals against a refusal to award disability living allowance to young people with autism have been upheld in each year since 2001.

Bridget Prentice: The First-tier TribunalSocial Security and Child Support (SSCS) does not keep the information which the hon. Member requested in a readily available format. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The following disability living allowance data is available:
	
		
			  Numbers of disability living allowance appeals 
			   Appeals cleared at hearing( 1)  Decisions against the appellant  Percentage decision against  Decisions in favour of the appellant  Percentage decision in favour 
			 2001-02 78,169 35,674 45.6 41,623 53.2 
			 2002-03 71,034 31,606 44.5 38,598 54.3 
			 2003-04 71,800 33,590 46.8 37,223 51.8 
			 2004-05 73,211 34,924 47.7 37,183 50.8 
			 2005-06 71,125 34,363 48.3 35,495 49.9 
			 2006-07 63,727 (2) (2) 30,144 47.3 
			 2007-08 58,842 30,813 52.4 26,974 45.8 
			 2008-09 54,645 30;131 55.1 23,594 43.2 
			 (1) In addition to decisions 'in favour' and 'against', this includes cases that have been withdrawn, postponed or adjourned. (2) Data not available. Only limited data is available for 2006-07 as there was a change-over between computer systems during the year which has left an overlap in records which cannot be reconciled.

Legal Aid

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what changes to the criteria for eligibility for legal aid for civil cases have been made since May 1997.

Bridget Prentice: On 1 April 2000, the Access to Justice Act 1999 came into force and established the community legal service (CLS) in place of the previous civil legal aid scheme. The financial eligibility criteria for legal help and for legal representation through the CLS were set out in the Community Legal Service (Financial) Regulations 2000, which came into force on 1 April 2000. The financial criteria were substantially amended by the Community Legal Service (Financial) (Amendment No.3) Regulations 2001, which came into force on 3 December 2001. This brought about the simplification of the means test, with the introduction of a gross income limit and disposable income calculation based on a small number of targeted allowances. The financial eligibility limits are increased from time to time in line with inflation. From April 2005, the income limits for legal help and legal representation were aligned. At the same time the disposable capital limit for legal help was increased from 3,000 to 8,000, and we allowed the disposable income limit to be waived for victims of domestic violence seeking protection from harm. From 9 April 2007 we extended this so that both income and capital limits could be waived for these domestic violence victims. On 6 April 2009 we increased the financial eligibility limits for civil legal aid by 5 per cent.

Local Government Boundary Committee for England

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what methodology is used by the  (a) Boundary Committee for England and  (b) Boundary Commission to estimate the size of the electorate for the purposes of boundary reviews.

Michael Wills: Questions relating to the Boundary Committee for England are the responsibility of the Speaker's Committee.
	Under the current rules governing reviews by the Boundary Commission, the electorate of any constituency in each part of the United Kingdom must be as near as is practicable to the electoral quota (which, broadly, is the average number of electors in each constituency). Differences in the size of the electorate in each constituency may occur since the Boundary Commission may depart from strict application of the rules in specified circumstances, for example, where special geographical considerations apply or to take account of any local ties which would be broken by boundary changes. The rules require the Boundary Commission when carrying out a review to use the number of electors whose names appear on the register of parliamentary electors in force on the date on which the notice of the start of the review is published.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to reply to the hon. Member for Walsall North's letter of 26 May 2009 concerning a constituent.

Bridget Prentice: My noble Friend, Lord Bach, replied on 30 June. I apologise for the delay.

Official Documents

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons the Government has not signed the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents.

Michael Wills: The UK Government must be satisfied that its laws are compatible with the provisions of the Convention before it can make any decision to sign and then ratify the Convention.
	On 10 June 2009, the Prime Minister announced that the UK Government intended to reduce the time taken to open official records to the public from 30 to 20 years, and to make two amendments to the exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to ensure that information access arrangements allow essential constitutional relationships and conventions to be preserved. These proposed amendments would have an impact upon our freedom of information legislation and so must first be carefully assessed.
	The UK's freedom of information regime is among the most open and rigorous in the world. It already goes further than the standards of the Convention in a number of areas.

Reoffenders: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the re-offending rate for offenders in  (a) Thames Valley and  (b) Milton Keynes was in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle: The local reoffending figures are produced by aggregating the data of four snapshots of the probation caseload at the end of each quarter. Therefore the number of offenders quoted in the following table is approximately four times the number of offenders on the caseload at any one time.
	The most recent reoffending rates for Thames Valley probation area and the Milton Keynes local authority area are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Local reoffending rates for Thames Valley and Milton Keynes,  1 January to 31 December 2008 
			   Number of offenders  Actual reoffending rate (percentage) 
			 Thames Valley probation area 20,038 9.79 
			 Milton Keynes local authority area 2,842 9.71 
		
	
	Local adult reoffending rates by probation area or local authority are not available for periods prior to 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008. Further details on local adult reoffending is available at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/local-adult-reoffending-2008-ii.pdf

Reparation by Offenders

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what  (a) monitoring and  (b) research his Department has carried out into the effects of the introduction of high-visibility jackets for offenders on unpaid work.

Maria Eagle: Distinctive clothing in the form of orange high visibility jackets for offenders undertaking Community Payback work was introduced in December 2008 as one of the measures to respond to the recommendations of the report Engaging Communities in Fighting Crime
	Since its introduction in December 2008, the level of use of this distinctive clothing has been monitored. This monitoring is on a quarterly basis and by the end of March 2009 over 400,000 hours of Community Payback work were undertaken by offenders wearing the distinctive clothing. The figures for the next quarter should be available by the end of July.
	Home Office polling shows that nationally awareness of Community Payback has risen from 49 per cent. in November 2008 to 74 per cent. in April 2009.

Civil Servants: Pensions

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1446-47W, on civil servants: pensions, 
	(1)  if she will place in the Library a copy of the Hewitt Associates advice on withdrawal from with-profit funds;
	(2)  if she will place in the Library a copy of the letter sent by the Cabinet Office to members of the Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contribution Scheme; and what alternative funds are proposed in place of with-profits funds;
	(3)  for what reasons the Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contribution Scheme is withdrawing from with-profits funds.

Angela Smith: Copies of the letters sent, in November 2007, to civil servants investing in the with-profits funds offered, as part of the Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contribution Scheme by (a) Scottish Widows and (b) Standard Life, have been placed in the Library of the House. These incorporate advice from Hewitt Associates Financial Services Limited.

Third Sector

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of the 2002 cross-cutting review on the voluntary and community sector conducted by HM Treasury; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: In June 2005, the National Audit Office (NAO) published a report assessing the Government's progress in implementing the 2002 cross-cutting review on the voluntary and community sector conducted by HM Treasury. The report found that the recommendations of the Cross-Cutting Review had been addressed but outlined 12 further recommendations. All of these have been taken forward via the subsequent creation of the Office of the Third Sector and in the 2007 Third Sector Review.

Departmental Pay

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which  (a) sections of his Department and  (b) non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible have requested money saved from efficiency savings to be used for increased pay in their 2009 pay offers to staff.

David Kidney: The information is as follows:
	 (a) DECC has not made application for money saved from efficiency savings to be used to increase pay in the 2009 pay offer to staff.
	 (b) Nor has any of the non-departmental public bodies for which the Department has responsibility.

Nuclear Power Stations: Accidents

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what contingency plans are in place to deal with serious nuclear incidents.

Joan Ruddock: All nuclear installations in the UK have detailed emergency plans in order to respond to an accident or emergency that could occur on the site. The on and off-site plans are tested on a regular basis. Testing of the emergency plans is assessed by teams of inspectors from HSE's nuclear installations inspectorate. Annually, one of the nuclear licensed site off-site emergency plans is chosen to test not only the regional response to an emergency but also test the wider arrangements to involve central Government, including the exercising of the various Government Departments and agencies.

Ofgem: Complaints

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will place in the Library a copy of the  (a) interim and  (b) final audit report complied by PFK for Ofgem on complaint handling.

David Kidney: On 30 June 2009 Ofgem published final audit reports from PKF on complaint handling by  (a) the main six suppliers and  (b) smaller suppliers. Copies of both of these reports have been placed in the House of Commons Library. An interim report was not produced by PKF as part of this process.

Ofgem: Complaints

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what terms of reference were given to PFK in respect of its work for Ofgem on complaints handling; and what fees were paid to the company for that work.

David Kidney: The fees paid to PKF in respect of its work for Ofgem on complaints handling, amounted to 93,378.24 (exclusive of VAT). A copy of the Terms of Reference given to PKF have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Ofgem: Opinion Leader Research

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what process was used to select Opinion Leader Research to conduct work on Ofgem's Consumer First Panel.

David Kidney: The Consumer First Panel was competitively tendered under Ofgem's framework for market research services and was compliant with OJEU regulations and processes.

Renewable Energy: Manufacturing Industries

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the proportion of heat derived from renewable sources  (a) generated and  (b) consumed by each industrial sector in each year since 2005.

David Kidney: holding answer 29 June 2009
	 The Government collect statistics on renewable heat generation in total (c.f. Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) 2008, table 7.6 renewable sources used to generate electricity and heat and for transport fuels) but these figures are not broken down across industrial sectors. This table shows that the total amount of renewable heat generated across the UK economy was 8.48 TWh in 2007 (most recent year available), 7.51 TWh in 2006 and 6.97 TWh in 2005.
	Renewable heat is also produced by combined heat and power (CHP) plants that use renewable fuels, and the data on theseon a whole-economy basisare presented in table 6.6 of DUKES. This shows that in 2007 out of a total of 53,050 GWh of heat generated by CHP plants in the UK 992 GWh came from those using renewable fuels i.e. almost 2 per cent. A significant percentage of these plants will be within the industrial sector.
	The September 2008 edition of BERR's 'Energy Trends' publication had a special feature Estimates of Heat Use in the UK focussing on 2006. The figure for heat consumption by manufacturing industry(1) for that year was given (table 4) as 216 TWh [or 18,577 ktoe(2)], and it was noted that this did not include '2.3 TWh [198 ktoe] of renewable fuels (predominantly used for renewable heat)'. This would equate (assuming 100 per cent. heat use) to around 1.0 per cent. of total heat demand for this sector being met from renewable sources.
	(1) The definition of manufacturing industry used did not include mining and quarrying, recycling, the collection, purification and distribution of water, and construction.
	(2) Kilotonnes of oil equivalent. DUKES uses this unit; 1 tonne oil equivalent = 11.63 MWh.

Sizewell A Power Station

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the cost was of repairing the coolant leak discovered at Sizewell A on 7 June 2007.

David Kidney: I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the coolant leak at Sizewell A on 7 January 2007 as I am not aware of such an incident at Sizewell A on the 7 June 2007.
	The cost of the repair of the coolant leak is a matter for the operating company.

Sizewell A Power Station

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his predecessor Department was informed about the coolant leak at Sizewell A discovered on 7 June 2007; and what steps Ministers took following receipt of the information.

David Kidney: I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the coolant leak at Sizewell A on 7 January 2007 as I am not aware of such an incident at the site on 7 June 2007.
	The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was informed of the incident on 7 January 2007 by the operators and the regulators. Any further action is a matter for the independent regulators.

Sizewell A Power Station

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions his predecessor Department had with the  (a) Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and  (b) Environment Agency as a result of the discovery of a coolant leak at Sizewell A on 7 June 2007.

David Kidney: I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the coolant leak at Sizewell A on 7 January 2007, as I am not aware of such an incident at the site on 7 June 2009.
	The arrangements in place for reporting events on nuclear licensed sites in the UK are well established. The information received by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) from the licensee is distributed according to the significance of the event. In this instance relevant Government Departments were alerted through the normal reporting arrangements. NII had no formal discussions with DTI or BERR about the event, but maintained regular contact at official level. Throughout its investigations NII kept the Environment Agency informed of progress.
	The Environment Agency (EA) had no formal discussions with DEFRA concerning the incident though at official level there was regular contact.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Admissions

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients who presented at accident and emergency departments were not subsequently admitted to hospital in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: The Department does not collect information in the format requested.
	However, the Department does collect data on the number of accident and emergency (AE) attendances and the number of admissions to hospital wards via an AE unit. Data on both of these are presented in the following table, for years in which figures are available.(1)
	(1) The criteria for calculating attendance and admissions numbers has varied slightly over the period covered by the table.
	
		
			   First attendances  Admissions via AE  Those attending AE not subsequently admitted 
			 1997-98 12,793,720 1,847,521 10,946,199 
			 1998-99 12,811,064 1,955,969 10,855,095 
			 1999-2000 13,167,495 2,035,119 11,132,376 
			 2000-01 12,953,432 2,105,021 10,848,411 
			 2001-02 12,900,727 2,224,833 10,675,894 
			 2002-03 13,253,405 2,288,053 10,965,352 
			 2003-04 15,312,738 2,467,748 12,844,990 
			 2004-05 16,711,750 2,813,368 13,898,382 
			 2005-06 17,775,225 2,951,076 14,824,149 
			 2006-07 18,010,506 3,037,131 14,973,375 
			 2007-08 18,302,138 3,087,020 15,215,118 
			 2008-09 18,820,828 3,266,603 15,554,225 
			  Note: To note also that data on the number of attendances at AE type 1 departments are available and published quarterly via the Department of Health's Quarterly Monitoring AE Services dataset. This includes patients who attended AE but who were not subsequently treated and counts each attendance by the same patient separately.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times stomach pumping was used in NHS hospitals for the treatment of excessive alcohol consumption in the last 12 months.

Gillian Merron: Data on stomach pumping for the treatment of excessive alcohol consumption is not collected centrally.

Back Pain

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have received NHS treatment for back problems in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The information requested on the number of people treated with back problems in the national health service is not collected centrally as back pain sufferers are normally treated in a primary care environment. The Hospital Episode Statistics data is able to give information on hospital admissions only, where clinical codes exist.
	It is the responsibility of primary care trusts to commission services for people with back problems to meet the needs of their local population. The Department is supporting commissioning through the recent publication of an 18-week pathway for the management and treatment of back pain and treatments. NHS Choices has also provided information that will raise awareness of back pain and treatments.

Doctors: Entry Clearances

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-EU doctors were granted entry to work in the NHS  (a) through the points-based immigration system and  (b) under other systems in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of the doctors in the NHS were non-EU doctors in each such year.

Ann Keen: The Department does not collect this data centrally.

Drugs: Misuse

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been provided to people resident in Hemel Hempstead by the National Treatment Agency in each of the last five years; and how much has been allocated in the next two years.

Gillian Merron: The Government provide specific resources for drug treatment in the form of the pooled drug treatment budget (PTB), administered by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, which combined with local mainstream funding results in substantial investment in local drug treatment funding.
	The PTB is allocated to local drug partnerships and figures for the Hertfordshire Drug and Alcohol Team are as follows:
	
		
			   Funding () 
			 2005-06 4,120,026 
			 2006-07 4,933,918 
			 2007-08 5,025,733 
			 2008-09 4,961,579 
			 2009-10 4,976,990 
		
	
	The projected PTB allocation for 2010-11 is 4,704,952. However, the exact allocation is dependent on partnership performance and will not be confirmed until January 2010. Figures for 2011-12 are not yet available.
	Until 2008-09 PTB was allocated against a basket of indicators of social and economic deprivation known to reflect drug use as the best available proxy of treatment need.
	Differences in performance between drug partnerships in getting people into treatment were resulting in unjustifiable variations in the size of the central contribution to the costs of each person's treatment.
	2009-10 is the second year of a process which seeks to produce a fairer allocation system which more accurately matches need, activity and resources.
	The new process is based on three elements:
	25 per cent. of the allocation is based on the indicators underpinning the previous formula to reflect the differential cost of responding to different levels of complex need such as homelessness, mental heath, family breakdown and unemployment;
	75 per cent., is based on activity in the treatment system with areas being allocated a set amount per person treated effectively; and
	The final element is an area cost adjustment figure to reflect the varying costs of delivering services in different part of the country.
	To promote an orderly alteration to service planning, the change is being introduced over three years.

Hearing Impaired: Sight Impaired

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many communicator-guides there were  (a) in 1997 and  (b) on the most recent date for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many deafblind people there were in England  (a) in 1997 and  (b) at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Phil Hope: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care does not collect information centrally about the numbers of communicator guides.
	In 2001 guidance was issued to councils regarding the recording of deafblind registration. Where a person had a number of additional disabilities including deaf or hard of hearing, councils were advised to count these under the category of deaf and hard of hearing. Therefore in 1997, there may have been some people with multiple disabilities who may have been categorised as having a mental illness, learning or physical disabilities rather than in the categories deaf or hard of hearing.
	Registration of blindness is voluntary and so the registers cannot be thought of as providing a definitive number of blind and partially sighted people. In addition, issuing of guidance such as that mentioned above may impact on the numbers and therefore, figures for 2003 (first collection after the guidance was issued) have also been provided in the following tables.
	The following tables show the total number of people in England registered as blind or partially sighted who also have an additional hearing related disability.
	
		
			  Number of people registered blind who also have a hearing impairment, as at 31 March 1997, 2003 and 2008, England( 1) 
			  Rounded numbers with additional disability of 
			O f which :  
			   Deaf  with speech  without speech s  Hard of hearing 
			 1997 1,010 280 735 2,835 
			 2003 2,825 (2)n/a (2)n/a 5,640 
			 2008 3,565 2,830 735 8,685 
			 (1) Estimates have not been made where a council has not been able to provide the information separately for those with an additional disability, therefore the table contains the total only from those councils from which returns were received. (2) Data not available.  Notes: 1. Figures for 1997 are based on actual returns received from 85 councils out of 119 Figures for 2003 are based on actual returns received from 131 councils out of 150 Figures for 2008 are based on actual returns received from 149 councils out of 150. 2. Data rounded to the nearest 5.  Source: SSDA 902 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of people registered partially sighted who also have a hearing impairment, as at 31 March 1997, 2003 and 2008, England( 1) 
			  R ounded numbers with additional disability of 
			Of  which :  
			   Deaf  with speech  without speech  Hard of  h earing 
			 1997 (2)n/a (2)n/a (2)n/a (2)n/a 
			 2003 1,830 (2)n/a (2)n/a 5,205 
			 2008 3,710 2,205 1,505 9,315 
			 (1) Estimates have not been made where a council has not been able to provide the information separately for those with an additional disability, therefore the table contains the total only from those councils from which returns were received. (2) Data not available.  Notes: 1. Figures for 2003 are based on actual returns received from 127 councils out of 150 Figures for 2008 are based on actual returns received from 149 councils out of 150. 2. Data rounded to the nearest 5.  Source:  SSDA 902

Hospital Beds

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many level  (a) three,  (b) two and  (c) one care beds there were in hospitals for (i) adults, (ii) children and (iii) neo-natal patients in England in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many hospitals in England have established  (a) adult,  (b) child and  (c) neo-natal intensive care units in each year since 1997;
	(3)  what his most recent estimate is of the number of critical care beds provided by NHS trusts in England.

Mike O'Brien: Information is not held centrally regarding the opening or closing of units or of intensive care units (ICUs) that merge with high dependency units (HDUs) to form combined units.
	This is a matter for local determination in the light of changing service patterns, elective and emergency case mix and anticipated activity.
	The number of ICU level 3 beds for adults, children and neonates from 1997 and HDU level 2 for adults beds since 1999 are shown in tables which have been placed in the Library. Data on level 1 beds, and data on level 2 beds for children and neonates is not collected centrally.

Hospital Wards

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) general and  (b) specialist wards were in use according to data from Estates Return Information collection returns for each NHS organisation in each reporting year since 1997, specifying the organisation code in each case.

Mike O'Brien: The information is not available in the precise format requested.
	Since 2002-03, the Department has collected annual data from national health service trusts on the average total number of general and specialist wards in use over the reporting year, through the Estates Returns Information Collection. The available data for each year since 2002-03 has been placed in the Library.
	The information provided has been supplied by the NHS and had not been amended centrally. The accuracy and completeness of the information is the responsibility of the provider organisation.

Mentally Incapacitated: Community Treatment

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1228W, on the mentally incapacitated: community treatment, how many second opinions for treatment under supervised community treatment have been  (a) requested and  (b) provided under the Mental Health Act 1983 since 1 April 2009.

Phil Hope: The Care Quality Commission received 1,195 second opinion requests in the period 1 April 2009 to 30 June 2009 for patients subject to supervised community treatment, 64 of which have subsequently been withdrawn. As of 1 July 2009, 242 of the second opinion requests received in that period were recorded as having had all action completed.
	As of 1 July 2009, 527 second opinion visits for patients subject to supervised community treatment were recorded as having all action completed in the period 1 April 2009 to 30 June 2009. Some of those 527 visits will relate to second opinion requests received prior to 1 April 2009.
	As of 1 July 2009, the overall number of second opinion requests received for patients subject to supervised community treatment for the period 3 November 2008 to 30 June 2009 was 2,868, 267 of which were subsequently withdrawn. Of the second opinion requests received in that period, 1,393 were recorded as having had all action completed.
	Information on the number of second opinions given but not yet recorded as completed is not available. The figures will change as further information is received.

NHS: Accountancy

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, column 109W, on NHS: accountancy, what progress has been made in establishing the likely effects on the revenue of NHS organisations of the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards from April 2009.

Mike O'Brien: National health service organisations have prepared their 2009-10 financial plans on an International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) basis. The Department has established that the main effects on the revenue of NHS organisations arising from the adoption of IFRS relates to the accounting for private finance initiative and accounting for local improvement finance trust schemes and the accounting treatment of lease arrangements.
	We are currently considering the Treasury Consolidated Budgeting Guidance published in June 2009, which deals with aspects of IFRS accounting, to determine how it should be applied to NHS organisations. We are also in discussion with the Audit Commission around the likely affect on the revenue of NHS organisations.

NHS: Assets

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) gross internal floor area,  (b) unoccupied internal floor area and  (c) non-patient occupied internal floor area was, according to data from Estates Return Information Collection returns, for each NHS organisation in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: The information is not available in the precise format requested.
	Since 2000-01, the Department has collected annual data on internal floor areas from national health service trusts through the Estates Returns Information Collection (ERIC). Data collection on each NHS organisation's gross internal floor area and unoccupied internal floor area first began in 2000-01, with non-patient occupied floor area beginning in 2002-03.
	The available data for each year since 2000-01 has been placed in the Library.
	The information provided has been supplied by the NHS and had not been amended centrally. The accuracy and completeness of the information is the responsibility of the provider organisation.

Social Services

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 May 2009,  Official Report, column 1434W, on social services, for what reason his Department did not publish the Green Paper on care and support reform in June 2009.

Phil Hope: Reforming the care and support system is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us all to help create a care and support system capable of supporting people well into the 21st century so it is important that we take the time to get this right. However, the Green Paper will be published shortly.

Solihull Hospital: Maternity Services

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) high-risk,  (b) complicated and  (c) premature births occurred at Solihull Hospital in the last 12 months; and what proportion of all births at the hospital each category represented in that period.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Solihull hospital is part of Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust. Information on the number and percentage of deliveries at this organisation for 2007-08 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number and percentage of deliveries where the gestation length at the time of delivery was between 0-36 weeks (premature), 37+ weeks or unknown at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (*RR1-X) in 2007-08 
			  National health service hospitals, England  Number  Percentage 
			 Total deliveries at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust 10,753 100 
			 Deliveries that occurred between 0-36 weeks of gestation (premature) 178 1.7 
			 Deliveries that occurred 37+ weeks of gestation 2,445 22.7 
			 Deliveries with an unknown length of gestation recorded 8,130 75.6 
			  Notes: 1. The high proportion of deliveries with an unknown length of gestation recorded needs to be taken into account when interpreting the rates of deliveries for each gestation group. 2.  Length of gestation: This field shows the number of completed weeks of gestation according to the World Health Organisation definition, which specifies time from the first day of the last menstrual period. If this date is not reliable, an estimate is provided. This item appears for each baby on multiple birth delivery records; 0-36 weeks premature birth; 37+ weeks (includes post term births); and unknown. 3.  Finished consultant episode (FCE): An FCE is defined as a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. However, the figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. Maternity events taking place in either NHS hospitals or in non-NHS hospitals funded by the NHS will be recorded as ordinary 'delivery' or 'birth' episodes. 'Other delivery events' are delivery events other than those resulting in delivery or birth episodes under NHS funding or in any other facility supplied under a service agreement with the NHS. 4.  Ungrossed data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). 5.  Data quality: HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 6.  Hospital providers: A provider code is a unique code that identifies an organisation acting as a health care provider (e.g. NHS trust or PCT). Hospital providers can also include treatment centres (TC). TCs (also known as diagnostic centres) provide elective (planned) surgery for a range of conditions, mainly for day surgery or short-term hospital stay patients. Some TCs are attached to hospital trusts and HES enables data for these to be separately identified from the rest of the health care provider's data. It does this by adding TC to the trust code; if there is more than one per trust, 'T1', 'T2', 'T3' etc. are suggested unless already in use by the trust. Activity performed in the remainder of the trust is identified by the health care provider code being followed by an 'X'.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care.

Swine Flu

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Statement of 12 June 2009,  Official Report, columns 1052-63, on swine flu update, with which companies his Department holds advance purchase agreements for pandemic-specific vaccines; how much he expects to be spent on these vaccines; and from which budget funds for such expenditure will be drawn in the next 12 months.

Gillian Merron: The advance purchase agreements are with Glaxo Smith Kline and Baxter. The costs of the advance purchase agreements are 155.4 million over four years. Vaccine costs are commercial in confidence. Expenditure on dealing with swine flu will be met from within existing departmental budgets.

Swine Flu: Health Education

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2009,  Official Report, columns 387-88W, if he will place in the Library a copy of the findings of the research.

Gillian Merron: The Department periodically publishes summaries of the research it commissions on its website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/FreedomOfInformation/Freedomofinformationpublicationschemefeedback/Classesofinformation/Communicationsresearch/index.htm
	A summary of the research to check the receipt of the swine flu information leaflet will be published there in due course. We will also place a copy of the research in the Library on publication.
	The tracking research to check awareness of the information campaign is still ongoing and the findings are therefore not yet known.

Affordable Housing

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government What his policy is on the development of innovative financing schemes to support the purchase of affordable housing.

John Denham: The Government's HomeBuy scheme helps purchasers who cannot afford to buy a home on the open market. We have recently introduced two innovative products into the HomeBuy range in response to the current difficulties which potential buyers are experiencing as a result of the restrictions on the global supply of credit.
	Our Rent to HomeBuy product allows households to rent a home from a housing association at below market rent for up to five years, enabling them to save for a deposit. The HomeBuy Direct scheme provides purchasers with an equity loan of up to 30 per cent. to purchase a newly built home from participating developers on specific sites. The loan is funded jointly by the developer and Government.

Commonhold and Leasehold Act 2002

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2009,  Official Report, column 999W, on the Commonhold and Leasehold Act 2002, what informal discussions his Department has had with local authority officers on sections 152 and 153 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Act 2002 in the last two years; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's record of each such discussion.

Ian Austin: Officials attended the re-constituted London leasehold officers' forum on 6 January where an update on section 152 was provided. A meeting has since taken place with a working group from the forum on 12 May to discuss concerns and clarify certain proposal for the regulations. Officials continue to work with the forum to ensure that the regulations will benefit local authority leaseholders but without creating unnecessary burdens and costs.
	There was also the formal consultation exercise carried out in July 2007 to which some local authorities responded.

Council Tax: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 15 May 2009,  Official Report, column 1039W, on council tax: valuation, what the equivalent figures are for 2008-09.

Rosie Winterton: A copy of the information referred to has been placed in the Library.

Council Tax: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 7 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 1035-36W, on council tax: valuation, how many properties were identified by the Valuation Office Agency as potentially having consequentials prior to the discussion at the Programme Board.

Rosie Winterton: No work was undertaken prior to the discussion at the programme board to identify the number of consequentials.

Departmental Press

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) newspapers and  (b) periodicals are delivered to the private office of each Minister in his Department; and at what cost in the latest period for which figures are available.

Shahid Malik: All information is for the last financial year (April 2008 to March 2009).
	(A) The then Secretary of State,  the right hon. Member for Salford (Hazel Blears)  received the following newspapers:
	 The Daily Mail
	 The Daily Mirror
	 The Guardian
	 The Times
	 The Sun
	 The Independent
	 The Daily Express
	 The Financial Times
	 The Daily Telegraph
	 The Evening Standard (West End Final Extra)
	 The Evening Standard (West End Final)
	 The Evening Standard (1( st) Edition)
	 The Eastern Eye
	 The Daily Jang
	 The Jewish Chronicle
	 The Voice
	 New Nation
	 International Herald Tribune
	 Muslim Weekly
	 The then Secretary of State,  the right hon. Member for Salford (Hazel Blears)  received the following periodicals:
	 The Economist
	 The Spectator
	 The New Statesman
	 Prospect
	 The Municipal Journal
	 The Local Government Chronicle
	 The London Review of Books
	 Tribune
	 The Times Literary Supplement
	 The then Minister for Housing,  the right hon. Member for Derby , South (Margaret Beckett) and her predecessor the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) received the following newspapers:
	 The Daily Mail
	 The Daily Mirror
	 The Guardian
	 The Times
	 The Sun
	 The Independent
	 The Daily Express
	 The Financial Times
	 The Daily Telegraph
	 The Evening Standard (West End Final)
	 Yorkshire Post
	 The then Minister for Housing, the right hon. Member for Derby, South (Margaret Beckett) and her predecessor the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) received the following periodicals
	 The Economist
	 The Spectator
	 The New Statesman
	 The then Minist er for Local Government,  the right hon. Member for Wentworth (John Healey) received the following newspapers:
	 The Daily Mail
	 The Daily Mirror
	 The Guardian
	 The Times
	 The Sun
	 The Financial Times
	 The Evening Standard (West End Final)
	 Yorkshire Post
	 The then Minist er for Local Government,  the right hon. Member for Wentworth (John Healey) received the following  periodicals :
	 The Economist
	 The Spectator
	 The New Statesman
	 The Municipal Journal
	 The Local Government Chronicle
	 Tribune
	 The  then  Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (the noble Baroness Lady Andrews) received the following newspapers:
	 The Daily Mail
	 The Daily Mirror
	 The Guardian
	 The Times
	 The Sun
	 The Independent
	 The Daily Express
	 The Financial Times
	 The Daily Telegraph
	 The Evening Standard (1( st) Edition)
	 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (the noble Baroness Lady Andrews) received the following periodicals:
	 The Economist
	 The Spectator
	 The New Statesman
	 Prospect
	 The Local Government Chronicle
	 Regeneration and Renewal
	 Planning Magazine
	 The then Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State,  the right hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Khan) and his predecesso r the hon. Member for Gloucester (Mr. Dhanda) received the following  newspapers :
	 The Daily Mail
	 The Daily Mirror
	 The Guardian
	 The Times
	 The Sun
	 The Daily Telegraph
	 The Evening Standard (West End Final Extra)
	 The Evening Standard (1( st) Edition)
	 The Eastern Eye
	 The Daily Jang
	 The Jewish Chronicle
	 The then Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State,  the right hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Khan) and his predecesso r the hon. Member for Gloucester (Mr. Dhanda) received the following periodicals:
	 The New Statesman
	 The Municipal Journal
	 The Local Government Chronicle
	 Building
	 The then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,  the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright) received the following newspapers:
	 The Daily Mail
	 The Daily Mirror
	 The Guardian
	 The Times
	 The Sun
	 The Independent
	 The Financial Times
	 The Daily Telegraph
	 The Evening Standard (1( st) Edition)
	 The German Times (complimentary copy)
	 The then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,  the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright) received the following periodicals:
	 The Economist
	 Municipal Journal
	(B) The total costs recorded by the Department for newspapers and periodicals for all ministerial offices in the last financial year was 7,184.85.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many  (a) private developers and  (b) registered social landlords made applications for HomeBuy Direct funding during the most recent round of bidding;
	(2)  pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2009,  Official Report, column 883W, on housing: construction, what timetable has been set for publication of information on the bids received by the Homes and Communities Agency for funding under the Kickstart Housing Delivery programme;
	(3)  pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2009,  Official Report, column 883W, on housing: construction, how many bidders for funding under the Kickstart Housing Delivery programme have applied for  (a) equity and  (b) loan investment support;
	(4)  pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2009,  Official Report, column 883W, on housing: construction, how many of the bids received for funding under the Kickstart Housing Delivery programme were from  (a) arms length management organisations,  (b) registered social landlords and  (c) private sector developers;
	(5)  how many applications for support under the Kickstart Housing Delivery programme have been received from organisations operating in each region; how many projects such bids relate to; and how much funding organisations in each region have bid for to date under the Kickstart Housing Delivery programme;
	(6)  what the  (a) average and  (b) total monetary value of grants bid for under the Kickstart Housing Delivery programme was.

John Healey: Information on the bids received by the HCA for funding under the Kickstart Housing Delivery programme will be published on the HCA website at the end of July.

Influenza

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which public bodies are responsible for overseeing the preparations made by local authorities for an influenza pandemic.

Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
	The Audit Commission is responsible for monitoring the performance of local authorities. This includes ensuring that they meet their statutory requirements of which preparing for emergencies are one. (The Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004, requires local authorities to assess the risk of emergencies occurring and to maintain plans for managing these risks.)
	The Audit Commission works with partner inspectorates (i.e. HM Inspectorate for Constabularies, the Care Quality Inspectorate, HM Inspectorate of Prisons; HM Inspectorate of Probation and Ofsted) to assess the performance of local services in England through the Comprehensive Area Assessment. For those organisations that are inspected both sector specific and multi-agency performance is assessed. This includes assessment against National Indicator 37, which assesses how aware the general public are of what to do in the event of an emergency.
	The CCA Implementation team, within the Civil Contingencies Secretariat at the Cabinet Office, is responsible for running a CCA performance development and compliance work stream. An 'Expectation and Indicators of Good Practice Set for Category 1 and 2 Responders' has been published which sets out what is expected of those responsible for preparing for emergencies (including local authorities) and outlines mandatory requirements. This can be accessed through the United Kingdom resilience pages of the Cabinet Office website at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ukresilience/publications.aspx

Tenant Services Authority: Public Relations

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2009,  Official Report, column 1009W, on the Tenant Services Authority: public relations, for what reason Engage was commissioned.

Ian Austin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright) of 21 May 2009,  Official Report, column 1549W.

Waste Disposal: Planning Permission

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to decide on the request from 20 parish councils of 9 January 2009 that he call in the planning application for the construction of an energy from waste facility at Ardley in Oxfordshire.

Ian Austin: Oxfordshire county council has confirmed that the application will be referred to the Secretary of State under the Departures Direction if their Members resolve to approve planning permission. Oxfordshire county council advises that the application is not expected to be considered by Members until September at the earliest.
	The Secretary of State will consider all the information, including all representations, such as those received from the 20 parish councils, if the application is referred to him by the local planning authority.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Kent

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders have been  (a) issued and  (b) breached in (i) Ashford constituency and (ii) Kent since 31 December 2005.

Alan Campbell: Data on the number of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) issued and breached are not available below Criminal Justice System (CJS) area level. Between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2006 (the latest period for which data are currently available), 29 ASBOs were issued at all courts in the Kent CJS area.
	During the same period, nine ASBOs were proven in court to have been breached at least once, however, breach data from the magistrates' court administrative systems in Kent are known to have been under-reported. Many of these breaches will relate to ASBOs issued in years prior to 2006.
	It is possible for an ASBO to be issued in one area and breached in another. The breach data presented above counts breaches based on the area in which the ASBO was issued.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: South Yorkshire

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many acceptable behaviour contracts have been agreed in  (a) Barnsley and  (b) Doncaster in each year since the inception of such contracts;
	(2)  how many breaches of antisocial behaviour orders have been recorded in  (a) Barnsley and  (b) Doncaster in each year since the inception of such orders;

Alan Campbell: The number of acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs) is collected by the Home Office through a voluntary survey of crime and disorder reduction partnerships (CDRPs) use of antisocial behaviour tools and powers. The latest data published indicates that over 30,000 ABCs have been made between October 2003 and September 2007, with over 2,730 issued in South Yorkshire during the same period. Currently, data on the number of ABCs issued are not available below regional level.
	Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) became available from 1 April 1999. ASBO breach data are available for ASBOs issued between 1 June 2000 and 31 December 2006 (latest available). ASBO breach data are not compiled below criminal justice system (CJS) area level. Centrally collected ASBO breach data only count those instances where the breach of the ASBO was proven in court to have occurred. The number of occasions in each year on which ASBOs were proven in court to have been breached in the South Yorkshire CJS areas is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of occasions in the South Yorkshire criminal justice system area( 1)  where persons were proven in court to have breached their antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) in each year between 1 June 2000 and 31 December 2006 
			  CJS area  2000-02( 2)  2003  2004  2005  2006  1 June 2000 to 31December 2006 
			 South Yorkshire 20 47 76 156 191 490 
			 (1) ASBOs may be issued in one area and breached in another. Breaches are counted in this table by area of breach. (2) From 1 June 2000.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: OCJR Court Proceedings Database. Prepared by OCJR Evidence and Analysis Unit.

Antisocial Behaviour: West Midlands

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding his Department has allocated to tackle antisocial behaviour in  (a) Tamworth constituency,  (b) Staffordshire and  (c) the West Midlands in each year since the inception of such programmes.

Alan Campbell: The Home Office allocated 25,000 a year from 2003-04 to each crime disorder and reduction partnership (CDRP) in West Midlands which includes Tamworth and Staffordshire, as a contribution towards funding ASB co-ordinator posts. In 2005-06, in England the antisocial co-ordinators grant was pooled within the safer and stronger communities fund. This pooled budget supported the delivery of outcomes and indicators relating to antisocial behaviour in local area agreements (LAAs). As of 2008-09, Home Office funding for local authorities to tackle antisocial behaviour now form part of the general area-based grant (ABG) paid by the Department for Communities and Local Government. This funding has been renewed for the period 2008-11 and it is for local partnerships to agree how the grants received should be allocated against locally determined priorities, including tackling antisocial behaviour.
	Respect Programmes in the West Midlands have also had an impact on antisocial behaviour. These programmes, now the responsibility of the Department for Children, Schools and Families, were designed to kick-start a change in the way the area worked to tackle antisocial behaviour. Other Home Office led activities also act to tackle antisocial behaviour, for example, the introduction of community support officers in the West Midlands, including Staffordshire but a monetary value cannot be assigned to that contribution.
	Similarly, other programmes and services contribute, sometimes indirectly, to tackling antisocial behaviour, including diversionary activities for young people, neighbourhood wardens, as well as neighbourhood policing and neighbourhood management.

Asylum: Finance

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 19 March 2009,  Official Report, column 69WS, on asylum support, what estimate he has made of the annual administrative cost of operating a plastic payment card system for the provision of section 4 support for asylum seekers.

Phil Woolas: The annual administrative cost is estimated at 200,000. We are confident that the benefits of replacing vouchers with a payment card outweigh the financial investment.

Departmental Manpower

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were working in his Department's European Casework department on 1 June  (a) 2007,  (b) 2008 and  (c) 2009.

Phil Woolas: The following table provides the number of staff and their full-time equivalent (FTE) working on European casework for the dates requested.
	
		
			  Number of staff and their full-time equivalent (FTE) working on European casework as at 31 May( 1) 
			   Headcount  FTE 
			 2007 170 156.7 
			 2008 130 111.9 
			 2009 243 190.4 
			 (1) The figures are captured on the last working day of the month. These figures have been taken from 31 May for each year and therefore may not capture anyone who started work or changed their hours on or after 1 June.   Note:  The data are not provided under National Statistics protocols. They have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of applications from  (a) Chinese,  (b) Indian and  (c) US nationals for a student visa have been rejected since 31 March 2009.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 19 June 2009
	The percentage of applications from  (a) Chinese,  (b) Indian and  (c) US nationals for entry as a student under Tier 4 of the Points Based System between 31 March 2009 and 26 June 2009 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  PBS Tier 4 (Student) VISA applications: 1 April 2009 to 26 June 2009 
			   Received  Issued  Refused  Withdrawn  Lapsed  Total resolved  Percent refused 
			 Chinese nationals 1,687 692 374 4 0 1,070 34.9 
			 Indian nationals 3,497 966 938 5 0 1,909 49.1 
			 US nationals 924 662 181 6 0 849 21.3 
			  Note:  1. This data is unpublished and should be treated as provisional 2. Some applications received in the period will be resolved after the period end, and some applications resolved in the period will have been received prior to the period start.  Source:  Central Reference System

Forensic Science Service: Redundancy

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information his Department provided to staff at Forensic Science Service laboratories at  (a) Chepstow,  (b) Birmingham and  (c) Chorley on the closure and redundancy programme on 24 June 2009.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 2 July 2009
	On 24 June, the Forensic Science Service shared proposals about the approach to redundancy and operational site deployment with both Trade Union and Employee Forum representatives and copies of these proposals were made available to all FSS staff.
	The approach to redundancy proposal covers:
	Individual consultation
	Appeals process
	Maximising redeployment opportunities
	Trial periods
	Notice periods
	Support and outplacement
	Redundancy package
	Voluntary redundancy
	The operational site deployment proposal covers the approach, rationale and proposed site deployment based on the proposed move to national business streams. It provides details about:
	the options considered;
	the criteria against which the proposed option was selected (e.g. co-location of body fluid/DNA casework;
	available laboratory space;
	delivery of the national framework products/services and quality;
	lowest risk to customer disengagement;
	the operational considerations and impacts.

Illegal Immigrants

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 2 June 2009,  Official Report, column 364W, on illegal immigrants, how many  (a) removals and  (b) voluntary departures there were in each year since 2005.

Alan Johnson: The Home Office publishes statistics on removals and voluntary departures from the UK broken down by type on a quarterly and annual basis. The latest published information for the last four years can be found in Table 7c of the quarterly Control of Immigration: Quarterly statistical summary United Kingdom Q4 2008:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/immiq408.pdf

Muslim Population

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the size of the Muslim population of the UK in each year since 1979.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated July 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question asking what estimate has been made of the Muslim population of Britain in each year since 1979. (284443)
	The Census is the most commonly used source for statistics on religion by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), with more recent information on religious affiliation (that is the identification with a religion irrespective of actual practice or belief) from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The way people respond to questions on religion is sensitive to what question is asked and how it is asked. Therefore because of differences between the Census and LFS in terms of question design and also coverage of the type of establishments in which people reside, data from these two sources cannot be compared.
	The 2001 Census was the first time that a religion question had been asked in the England and Wales (and Scotland) census, and revealed that 1,589,000 people in Great Britain identified as Muslim in 2001.
	A question on religious affiliation was introduced into the LFS in Great Britain in Spring 2002 using an extended version of the wording used in the England and Wales Census, but was not asked of people aged 16 and under until 2004. Consequently the earliest suitable estimates are from 2004 which cover people of all ages, and are shown in Table 1 attached.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is included at Table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1: Muslim population( 1: ) Three month period ending September, 2004-08 ,  Great Britain, not seasonally adjusted 
			   Thousand 
			 2004 *1,870 
			 2005 *2,017 
			 2006 *2,142 
			 2007 *2,327 
			 2008 *2,422 
			 (1) All ages Coefficients of Variation have been calculated as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described:  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV - for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220.  Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical Robustness * 0 = CV[le]5 Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV [le]10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV [le]20 Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes  Note: It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc.  Source:  Labour Force Survey

Police Reform Act 2002

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 15 June 2009,  Official Report, columns 37-8W, on the Police Reform Act 2002, if he will place in the Library a copy of each document in his Department's files relating to the provisions in part 2 of the Police Reform Act 2002 establishing a new system for handling complaints against the police; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: No. Departmental files on the legislative process and the formulation of policy are kept primarily for briefing purposes for Ministers.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when she plans to reply to the letter to her predecessor of 18 May 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms S Mahmood.

Jim Knight: A reply was sent to my right hon. Friend on 30 June 2009.

Social Security Benefits: Applications

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications for  (a) housing and  (b) council tax benefit have been (i) made and (ii) processed in (A) 2007-08, (B) 2008-09 and (C) 2009-10 to date.

Helen Goodman: holding answer 2 July 2009
	Data is not yet available for the years 2008-09 and 2009-10.
	In 2007-08 1,380,865 housing benefit applications and 1,532,535 council tax benefit applications were processed by local authorities.
	 Source:
	Quarterly Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Administration Data.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1381-82W, on home responsibilities protection, how many women have been contacted; how many women have received lump sums of backdated pension; how much has been paid in backdated pensions; and what estimate she has made of the amount which will have been paid out by the end of the exercise.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 3 July 2 009
	The exercise to contact women who may have missed out on home responsibilities protection (HRP) started on 6 July. It is expected to take around two years to complete. We are not yet able to give an estimate of the amount which will have been paid out by the end of the exercise. Our preliminary analysis that somewhere in the region of 100,000 to 150,000 women may not be receiving their full entitlement to state pension because HRP has not been applied in its calculation is unchanged.

Children in Care

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will bring forward secondary legislation under the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 to provide that  (a) children in care shall receive a visit from a local authority representative at least once a month,  (b) adults who have been in care may be considered for appointment as independent visitors by local authorities,  (c) a child may be placed outside a local authority's area if it is in the child's best interest,  (d) before any child in care is placed back home with a parent a local authority must ensure that (i) it is safe for the child, (ii) the parent or parents can look after the child and (iii) the child is happy to go home and  (e) the duties of independent review officers shall include (A) keeping in touch with each child in care, (B) listening to children's views, (C) making sure a child in care understands the local authority's planned arrangements and (D) checking action taken against care plans and reviews.

Dawn Primarolo: We intend to tackle the issues raised in the question as follows:
	  (a) Section 15 of the Children and Young Persons Act places a duty on local authorities to arrange for all looked after children to be visited by a representative of theirs and for all looked-after-children to have available to them advice, support and assistance when they seek it. We shall be issuing regulations about how local authorities should discharge its duties under this section. We intend to impose a general minimum requirement setting the frequency of social work visits to looked-after-children and we will specify in addition that visits should also take place at the request of the child or their carer. We will be consulting on draft regulations and guidance including the frequency of visits in due course.
	 (b) We will also be using new regulations to broaden the categories of children who could be provided with an independent visitor. Care experienced adults might well make very suitable independent visitors for looked-after-children and we will consider them alongside other options.
	  (c) Section 8 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 sets out the considerations that local authorities must have regard to when they are considering making a placement for a looked-after-child. We will be strengthening regulations and guidance so that all placement decisions must be based on a thorough assessment of the needs of the individual child concerned which, for some children is likely to result in a placement away from their home community and out of their local authority area.
	  (d) Our strengthened regulations and guidance will say that every looked-after-child must have a care plan based on thorough detailed assessment setting out how the local authority intends to respond to their needs. All care plans must take into account the child's wishes and feelings. Plans to re-unify looked-after-children with their families must take account of children's safety and include an assessment of how the child and their family's circumstances have changed so that their parents are able to resume the child's care.
	  (e) Section 10 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 specifically strengthens the role of the independent reviewing officer (IRO) by:
	Making it clear that one of the IRO's core responsibilities is to ensure that children and young people are able to contribute meaningfully to their care plan and its reviews.
	Imposing a new legal duty on IROs to ensure that due consideration is given by the local authority to the child's wishes and feelings.
	Ensure that each child will have a named IRO, so that a child can be confident that one person will offer continuity and have oversight of their case.
	Through new regulations and guidance, we intend to specify that every child must have their own named IRO and that IROs must meet with the young person in advance of the review meeting. This is to ensure that they understand the purpose of the review and are given the opportunity to fully contribute to the discussion about the plan for their future care. Every review should provide a real opportunity to scrutinise the child's care plan to ensure that it continues to offer an appropriate response to the full range of their needs.

Children: Databases

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many local authorities did not meet the ContactPoint readiness assessment 7 deadline of 26 June 2009.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 2 July 2009
	All but five local authorities had completed RA7 (ContactPoint readiness assessment 7) by the checkpoint date of 26 June. All other local authorities completed RA7 in the following week.

Integrated Children's System

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2009,  Official Report, column 392W, on the Integrated Children's System, 
	(1)  who was responsible for the Quality Protects Management Information project when the Integrated Children's System requirements were developed; how many  (a) local authority officers and  (b) frontline social workers were consulted at each stage of development; which commercial suppliers of children's social care systems were consulted; with which contracted specialists his Department collaborated; and if he will publish the correspondence between his Department and commercial suppliers connected with the Integrated Children's System;
	(2)  how many meetings there were with  (a) local authorities and  (b) front-line social workers in developing the requirements for local authorities to procure systems from IT suppliers to support delivery of the model.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 24 June 2009
	The Quality Protects Management Information project was the responsibility of the then Secretary of State for Health when the original Integrated Children's System (ICS) requirements were developed between 2001 and 2003.
	10 consultation events were held in 2000 with over 500 representatives from organisations responsible for child welfare in England and Wales, including local authority social services departments, private and voluntary agencies, the then Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work, pilot post-qualifying child care courses, software houses, and a number of other interested individuals. Two additional events in Wales drew together an inter-agency audience in the context of the Children First programme. As part of the consultation exercise, specific groups consulted included foster carers, children, young people, families with disabled children and families from ethnic minority groups. Information on exactly how many meetings were held with either local authorities or frontline social workers or on how many local authority officers and frontline social workers were consulted at each stage of development is not available.
	Following this exercise, the Department of Health (DH) published the conceptual framework for ICS as a consultation document (Integrated Children's System: Working with Children in Need and Their Families) addressed to Councils with Social Services Responsibilities (CSSRs) in December 2002. DH and the Welsh Assembly Government addressed a further consultation document (Information Outputs for Children's Social Services A Conceptual Framework) to CSSRs in March 2003.
	The commercial systems suppliers consulted by DH were OLM, Anite, Careworks, and TCO. Anite's ICS interests were purchased in 2008 by Northgate; TCO was acquired in 2005 by CACI.
	Following machinery of Government changes in 2003, the Department for Children, Schools and Families took responsibility for ICS. Capgemini consultants were contracted by DCSF to conduct a readiness review of local authorities' ICS preparedness in 2006. These consultants were then retained to prepare industry-standard requirements documentation, in response to feedback from local authorities during the review.
	Correspondence with IT suppliers contracting for ICS systems is the responsibility of those individual local authorities which either are, or might wish to become, their customers. The Department's direct relations with these suppliers concern product assessment activities undertaken to assist local authorities in light of the readiness review. The results of these assessments have all been published on the Department's website at
	www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/safeguardingandsocialcare/integratedchildrenssystem/icstechnicalresources/tech/
	under the heading Supplier compliance summary. Other exchanges antecedent to the published assessments are covered by non-disclosure agreements, as they relate to commercially-sensitive information concerning product compliance and performance.

National Strategies Field Force

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 24 June 2009,  Official Report, column 996W, on schools: standards, how many field forces there are; what the remit of the National Strategies Field Force is; and what expenditure his Department incurred on each of the 10 largest field forces in the latest period for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: We do not hold a definitive list of field forces focused on school standards. One of the principal field forces in this area is the national strategies, which has a wide remit for raising standards of achievement and rates of progression for children and young people in all phases of schools and early years settings. Its principal remit is to support both schools and local authorities to improve teaching and learning, and to develop strategies for whole school improvement. The cost of this field force is given within our answer of 24 June.
	In our answer of 21 April we estimated a figure of around 90 milliom in 2008-09 to cover all field force advisers that work directly with LAs and Children's Trust partners. It is difficult to provide a precise breakdown of expenditure on each of these, since they are delivered through a range of mechanismssome are directly contracted (so the cost of advisors is incorporated within a larger contract), some are located in Government Offices as secondees, and some are employed directly by DCSF or its NDPBs. However, based on the information available, our estimate of the largest (in terms of 2008-09 expenditure) 10 field forces working directly with LAs and Children's Trust partners are listed as follows:
	National Strategies Regional and Local Advisers, 30 million
	Partnership for Schools Employed and Contracted Advisers c10 million
	Sure Start Children's Centres Advisers, c8 million
	Extended Services Support Advisers, c6 million
	TDA Regional Advisers, c5 million
	Children's Services Advisers (in Government Offices), c4 million
	Together for Disabled Children, advising on short-breaks and parent forums for disabled children and their families, c3 million
	14-19 Regional Field Workers, c3 million
	Academies Advisers, c2 million
	14-19 Regional Advisers c2 million
	Further information on the role of every field force is set out in the National Prospectus for Children's Services Improvement Support, a copy of which will be available in both Libraries.

Schools: Transport

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils in  (a) primary,  (b) secondary and  (c) special schools were recorded by the 2009 school census as (i) walking and (ii) cycling to school; and for how many pupils no transport data was recorded by that census.

Vernon Coaker: The requested information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary( 1) , state-funded secondary( 1, 2 ) and special schools( 3) : Mode of travel( 4) , as at January 2009 (provisional), England 
			   Number of pupils who walk to school  Percentage of pupils who walk to school  Number of pupils who cycle to school  Percentage of pupils who cycle to school  Number of pupils for whom travel data were not supplied  Percentage of pupils for whom travel data were not supplied 
			 Primary 2,262,990 55.5 39,520 1.0 150,100 3.7 
			 Secondary 1,296,930 39.7 94,890 2.9 219,640 6.7 
			 Special 2,610 3.0 230 0.3 3,970 4.5 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed.  (2) Includes CTCs and academies.  (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools.  (4) The collection of mode of travel to school data are only mandatory at pupil level for schools with an approved school travel plan. Data were received for 7,057,190 of the total number of 7,430,910 solely registered pupils (excludes boarders).   Source:  School Census.

Young People: Carers

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent estimate he has made of the number of young carers in  (a) Merseyside and  (b) Crosby.

Dawn Primarolo: The 2001 census, which is the only source of nationally comparable data on the number of carers of all ages, indicated that there were some 6,000 children and young people aged under 18 in Merseyside who were offering some care to family members, neighbours, friends or others. Data for Crosby is not available but for the Sefton area the figure was 1,000.
	The census records young people who are described by the adults in the household as offering care to their families or communities. This includes young people who are responsible for the care of a family member (which is how young carers are usually defined) plus others who may provide more occasional support such as child care for their parents or care for neighbours and friends.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Lynne Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2009,  Official Report, columns 1198-99W, on chronic fatigue syndrome, who the members of the panel of experts are; and how often it has  (a) met and  (b) reported on its findings.

David Lammy: The membership of the expert group set up by the Medical Research Council is as follows:
	Professor Jill Belch (Chair)University of Dundee,
	Professor Stephen HolgateUniversity of Southampton,
	Dr. Esther CrawleyUniversity of Bristol,
	Professor Philip CowenUniversity of Oxford,
	Professor Malcolm JacksonUniversity of Liverpool,
	Dr. Jonathan KerrSt George's University of London,
	Professor Ian KimberUniversity of Manchester,
	Professor Hugh PerryUniversity of Southampton,
	Dr. Derek PhebyNational CFS/ME Observatory,
	Professor Anthony PinchingPennisula Medical School,
	Dr. Charles ShepherdME Association,
	Sir Peter SpencerAction for ME,
	Professor Peter WhiteBart's and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry.
	The Expert Group has met twice, in December 2008 and March 2009. The notes of those meetings will be published on the MRC website shortly, and will then be accessible to the public.

Export Credits Guarantee Department

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what projects the Export Credits Guarantee Department has supported through its Fixed Rate Export Finance scheme since 1 January 2009; and what the  (a) date of approval,  (b) amount of exposure at that date,  (c) UK company concerned,  (d) destination country for the export and  (e) project or product involved was in each case.

Ian Lucas: The Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) has provided support for one project through its Fixed Rate Export Finance (FREF) scheme since 1 January 2009. The following details are provided as requested:
	  (a) 21 January 2009
	  (b) ECGD provided FREF support for $20 million out of a total loan of $42 million guaranteed by the Department. (ECGD obtained reinsurance for the remaining $22 million from COFACEthe French Export Credit Agency)
	  (c) Balfour Beatty Rail Projects Ltd
	  (d) Chile
	  (e) Extension of the Santiago Metro (supply of track, switches and crossings).

Higher Education: Admissions

Stephen Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of applications from  (a) school leavers and  (b) mature students to higher education institutions for a first degree course in (i) a science, technology, engineering or mathematics subject and (ii) all subjects from school leavers were from (A) women and (B) men in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: Subject coding changed in 2002/03 so time series before and after are not necessarily comparable.
	The latest figures showing applications by age are shown in the tables.
	
		
			  Applications to full-time first degree courses via UCAS from applicants aged  18 and  under 
			   STEM subjects  All subjects 
			   Female  Male  Total  Female  Male  Total 
			  Number   
			 1997 190,255 249,085 439,340 581,881 496,566 1,078,447 
			 1998 192,605 251,052 443,657 594,400 499,737 1,094,137 
			 1999 189,111 242,975 432,086 577,865 483,407 1,061,272 
			 2000 184,698 234,488 419,186 564,226 469,084 1,033,310 
			 2001 185,950 235,085 421,035 571,057 476,142 1,047,199 
			  Change in subject coding   
			 2002 198,011 233,179 431,190 587,495 484,308 1,071,803 
			 2003 207,287 234,016 441,303 606,532 495,569 1,102,101 
			 2004 208,847 229,896 438,743 611,088 494,385 1,105,473 
			 2005 231,572 247,260 478,832 667,416 535,329 1,202,745 
			 2006 235,496 249,907 485,403 667,263 537,803 1,205,066 
			 2007 240,087 252,065 492,152 683,457 548,055 1,231,512 
			  Change in maximum number of applications   
			 2008 212,269 225,825 438,094 608,135 487,357 1,095,492 
			
			  Proportion (Percentage)   
			 1997 43 57 100 54 46 100 
			 1998 43 57 100 54 46 100 
			 1999 44 56 100 54 46 100 
			 2000 44 56 100 55 45 100 
			 2001 44 56 100 55 45 100 
			  Change in subject coding   
			 2002 46 54 100 55 45 100 
			 2003 47 53 100 55 45 100 
			 2004 48 52 100 55 45 100 
			 2005 48 52 100 55 45 100 
			 2006 49 51 100 55 45 100 
			 2007 49 51 100 55 45 100 
			 2008 48 52 100 56 44 100 
		
	
	
		
			  Applications to full-time first degree courses via UCAS from applicants aged 1 9-20 
			   STEM subjects  All subjects 
			   Female  Male  Total  Female  Male  Total 
			  Number   
			 1997 82,947 113,259 196,206 269,444 251,571 521,015 
			 1998 82,568 113,227 195,795 280,956 260,525 541,481 
			 1999 85,841 118,197 204,038 285,449 266,680 552,129 
			 2000 83,289 116,665 199,954 267,239 255,220 522,459 
			 2001 80,974 115,532 196,506 263,833 253,292 517,125 
			  Change in subject coding   
			 2002 81,052 110,857 191,909 258,703 247,489 506,192 
			 2003 84,602 111,508 196,110 271,369 256,044 527,413 
			 2004 91,742j 114,601 206,343 288,370 269,287 557,657 
			 2005 100,333 123,083 223,416 309,161 288,920 598,081 
			 2006 99,383 120,189 219,572 298,240 276,044 574,284 
			 2007 114,491 136,585 251,076 351,204 320,173 671,377 
			  Change in maximum number of applications   
			 2008 103,066 127,449 230,515 323,668 299,086 622,754 
			
			  Proportion (Percentage)   
			 1997 42 58 100 52 48 100 
			 1998 42 58 100 52 48 100 
			 1999 42 58 100 52 48 100 
			 2000 42 58 100 51 49 100 
			 2001 41 59 100 51 49 100 
			  Change in subject coding   
			 2002 42 58 100 51 49 100 
			 2003 43 57 100 51 49 100 
			 2004 44 56 100 j 52 48 100 
			 2005 45 55 100 52 48 100 
			 2006 45 55 100 52 48 100 
			 2007 46 54 100 52 48 100 
			 2008 45 55 100 52 48 100 
		
	
	
		
			  Applications to full-time first degree courses vi a UCAS from applicants aged  21 and over 
			   STEM subjects  All subjects 
			   Female  Male  Total  Female  Male  Total 
			  Number   
			 1997 52,840 74,391 127,231 164,446 164,713 329,159 
			 1998 49,028 66,088 115,116 154,752 149,573 304,325 
			 1999 47,101 59,023 106,124 140,777 132,464 273,241 
			 2000 47,679 58,897 106,576 128,568 120,212 248,780 
			 2001 48,626 62,382 111,008 128,884 127,180 256,064 
			  Change in subject coding   
			 2002 53,375 68,034 121,409 137,169 134,977 272,146 
			 2003 62,412 71,698 134,110 147,196 143,446 290,642 
			 2004 69,806 76,350 146,156 160,453 151,392 311,845 
			 2005 79,366 83,897 163,263 184,848 168,530 353,378 
			 2006 79,885 77,808 157,693 186,528 155,813 342,341 
			 2007 82,744 78,876 161,620 198,601 162,190 360,791 
			  Change in maximum number of applications   
			 2008 79,576 74,446 154,022 187,557 152,867 340,424 
			
			  Proportion (Percentage)   
			 1997 42 58 100 50 50 100 
			 1998 43 57 100 51 49 100 
			 1999 44 56 100 52 48 100 
			 2000 45 55 100 52 48 100 
			 2001 44 56 100 50 50 100 
			  Change in subject coding   
			 2002 44 56 100 50 50 100 
			 2003 47 53 100 51 49 100 
			 2004 48 52 100 51 49 100 
			 2005 49 51 100 52 48 100 
			 2006 51 49 100 54 46 100 
			 2007 51 49 100 55 45 100 
			 2008 52 48 100 55 45 100 
			  Notes on UCAS application data: 1. In the academic years 1997/98 to 2007/08 each applicant could make up to six choices on their application form; in 2008 this was decreased to five. 2. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects are defined as the following subject groups: Medicine and Dentistry, Subjects allied to Medicine, Biological Sciences, Vet Science, Agriculture and related, Physical Sciences, Mathematical and Comp Science, Engineering, Technologies, Architecture, Building and Planning, Combined Sciences. The tables above use this definition. 3. From 2002 entry, UCAS switched from using the Standard Academic Classification of Subjects (SCAS) to the Joint Academic Coding System (JACS). Data reported for 2008 entry uses JACS2, an updated version of JACS. For further information see: http://www.ucas.ac.uk/he_staff/datamanagement/jacs/jacs20 4. From 2005, the former Social Work Admissions System (SWAS) was incorporated into the main UCAS system, therefore a small number of Social Work Postgraduate courses will be included in the data from 2005 onwards.  Source: UCAS.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 29 June 2009,  Official Report, column 98W, on motor vehicles: manufacturing industries, whether he plans to assess the effect of the vehicle scrappage scheme on the second-hand car market.

Ian Lucas: holding answer 3 July 2009
	I have no plans to carry out a separate assessment. The effect of the vehicle scrappage scheme will be considered as it effects the car industry as a whole.

Finance: Housing

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reduction in spending he is making to accommodate the 1,500 million increase in housing expenditure announced in the Prime Minister's Statement on Building Britain's Future on 29 June 2009.

Liam Byrne: There is no additional borrowing as a result of the affordable housing announcement in Building Britain's Future.
	In 2009-10 and 2010-11 the additional resources for housing will all come from within existing budgets. This has been achieved by reprioritisation within the Department for Communities and Local Government's budget and the reallocation of anticipated underspends from the Home Office, the Department for Transport, the Department of Health and the Department of Children Schools and Families.

Housing: Valuation

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 6 November 2008,  Official Report, column 682W, on housing: valuation, in which locality in the valuation area of Westminster the dwelling with billing authority reference T2902011000007 is located.

Stephen Timms: As at 1 July 2009, the Valuation Office Agency has this dwelling in Locality 37 of Westminster Billing Authority. The Billing Authorities of Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea comprise a single valuation area.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, column 796W, on Members: correspondence, when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford of 2 February 2009 on his constituent Dr Paul Carslake; and what the reason is for the time taken to reply.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: holding answer 8 June 2009
	A reply has been sent to the hon. Member.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter of 23 April 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr K Williams.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: A reply has been sent to the right hon. Member.

Public Expenditure

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the evidence given by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the House of Lords Committee on the Barnett Formula on 17 June 2009, if he will place in the Library a copy of the study of the relative expenditure needs of the four countries of the United Kingdom carried out in 1984.

Liam Byrne: Today, I have placed a copy of the 1984 update to the Needs Assessment Study in the Library of the House.

Valuation Office: Freedom of Information

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2009,  Official Report, column 772W, on the Valuation Office: freedom of information, and the subsequent deposited paper DEP2009-1797, if he will publish for each of the listed  (a) freedom of information and  (b) environmental information regulation requests details of the information requested.

Stephen Timms: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Water: Meters

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to paragraph 7.7 of the Minutes of the 49th Meeting of the Steering Committee on Harmonisation (Practice and Procedure) between England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland of 6-7 May 2009, which EU directive is expected to require all properties to have water meters.

Stephen Timms: Paragraph 7.7 is a record of what was stated by the Republic of Ireland representative. No EU directive is expected to require UK properties to have water meters.